Podcasts in Review

September 17, 2015 at 12:01 am | Posted in Miscellaneous | 2 Comments
Tags: adam bray, cecil castellucci, cole horton, john jackson miller, kevin j. anderson, michael a. stackpole, michael kogge, rebecca moesta, timothy zahn

Here is this week’s Podcasts in Review with quite a few Star Wars authors for your listening enjoyment.

Bombad Radio: Episode 207 features an interview with Shannon Eric Denton as they talk comics, Airwolf and Star Wars. Eric has a pretty interesting story as he moved from being a comic artist, to an artist for animated shows, to being a writer. He’s a good guest and it’s a fun conversation. Worth checking out.

Coffee With Kenobi: Episode 43 is their pre-Force Friday show with some discussion on their collecting trips for Disney Infinity 3.0 figures. Their guests for this episode are Mike and Joao from The Cantina Cast as they dive into some meaty topics like Yoda, Obi-Wan, the chosen one prophecy and more. It’s an interesting discussion episode and good for any general Star Wars fan.

Fly Casual: Episode 55 is a news and rumors episode as they cover Star Wars #8, Kanan #5 and Lando #3. Then they head into Rogue One rumors, Kylo Ren rumors, a discussion on the length of the movie and whether one of the big 3 will die and which one. Overall, good show with the usual mix of humor, Star Wars geekdom and unpredictability.

Fly Casual: Episode 54 covers some D23 news, a recent response from the TFA crew on Ford’s injury, more Josh Trank news, they talk about Trevero directing Episode IX and their concerns, plus other news. Afterwards they get into toys with some Force Friday chatter on what was coming out and their thoughts on the collectibles. Lot of discussion in this episode.

Jogcast Radio: Episode 54 features a fun interview with author John Jackson Miller. They talk about John’s Star Wars novel A New Dawn, characters, historical context, westerns, his upcoming Star Trek trilogy Star Trek: Prey which will all be out next Fall. They also touch on one of his characters showing up in Aftermath, his thoughts on another Kenobi novel, toys, collecting and comics. It’s a good interview though you have to turn it up a little in order to hear John’s side of the conversation. On the plus side it’s not a huge disparity so you won’t be blowing your eardrums out. This was my first time tuning into Jogcast. I have to say the host was pretty good and did a great job with the interview, but the sound bytes for the show were kind of odd and, well, there’s a lot of room for improvement there in my opinion.

My Star Wars Story: Episode 13 is back and this time with The ForceCast’s Justin Bolger. Justin’s Star Wars story differs in a lot of ways from the previous guests. He spent a good chunk of his childhood on a military base in Germany, and between him and his brother, they had some in depth, imaginative Star Wars roleplaying with their old Kenner toys. He recounts his Star Wars experience, seeing the original films, the special editions, his love for Shadows of the Empire, and the big build up to the prequels. As he goes on, it becomes apparent just how big a of Palpatine fan he’s been even as a child. He talks about how he got into podcasting, his first trip to San Diego Comic Con, winding up on The ForceCast, and much more. Great episode and well worth checking out. Quick note to curb your expectations, but the bonus audio after the credits is pretty short. It’s just a quick convo about how the colors in The Empire Strikes Back kind of mimics the themes of heaven, purgatory and hell.

Round 3: Episode #84 tackles Discovery Channel’s Shark Week versus Red Lobster’s crabfest, staying in versus going out, and the Fourth of July versus Thanksgiving. It’s random, it’s fun, it’s Round 3.

Skywalking Through Neverland: Episode 92 covers their Force Friday adventures, their purchases and a nice guest spot with Adam O’Brien from Jogcast Radio Network. Adam is in Australia where they had the unique experience of having Force Friday 16 hours before everyone else. Afterwards they play their audio from the Mysterious Galaxy bookstore event in San Diego which featured authors Adam Bray, Cecil Castellucci, Michael Kogge and Cole Horton. They share trivia from Star Wars: Absolutely Everything You Need to Know and Moving Target: A Princess Leia Adventure, they talk about their books, how they got into Star Wars, and the audience even gets to challenge the authors to some of their own trivia. Really fun episode. One great thing about Skywalking Through Neverland is that listening to any episode is guaranteed to pick up your spirits and make your day better. Rich and Sarah pack in so much enthusiasm and hard work into each episode that it’s always a terrific pick me up, and this episode is no different. Definitely a good one to listen to and my pick of the week. I really liked how they edited the book event audio to include some well placed sound effects. A little editing can go a long way, and there are a lot of podcasts out there who don’t take the time to do any editing. It’s much appreciated.

Star Wars Action News: Episode 458 is their Force Friday episode with lots of coverage. They talk with Steve Sansweet and Jeff Carlisle in New York while reporting on the special event there in Times Square. They talk some about what the got, they get toy reports from across the country and even from the UK. Later on they have a follow up interview with Steve Sansweet, and, all in all, it’s a great episode. Certainly my preferred podcast when it comes to toy news and coverage. Arnie and Marjorie always do a great job.

Star Wars Bookworms: Episode 45 features guest Jason Hamilton from Legends and Lore podcast as they talk some of Disney Infinity 3.0, new books, and then their main topic: Lords of the Sith by Paul S. Kemp. Full spoilers as usual but a nice discussion of the book. Good one to check out if you’re a book fan.

Star Wars Report: Episode #183 is their Dragon Con episode as they record from the con. Riley, Bethany and Cloud City Casino’s hosts talk about their Dragon Con experiences, their panels and their highlights. There’s no audio from the panels, so it’s just a recap of their experiences at the con. If you’re a fan of the show, you might want to check this one out, otherwise you could probably skip it.

Steven and Stephen on Steven: Episode 7 covers Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark, however the episode opens with their thoughts on recent movies they’ve scene. With their Raiders discussion, they highlight the great moments from the film, and overall, it’s a good episode on a great movie. I have to say I’m noticing an improvement with the show. It’s really starting to gel with a good flow and good discussion. With a little more work with the music cues, they’ll be on top of their game.

Tosche Station: Star Wars Mythos, unlike Star Wars Report, delivers the goods with audio from the Star Wars panels. This particular episode has the full audio from the Star Wars Mythos panel which featured Star Wars authors Timothy Zahn, Michael A. Stackpole, Rebecca Moesta, Kevin J. Anderson and is moderated by Bryan Young. They talk about the hero’s journey, what they were surprised to be able to put into Star Wars, the mythology of Star Wars and their study of it, killing characters, building loss, the Legends situation, I, Jedi, the Young Jedi Knight books and more. Terrific episode with an all star panel. EU fans will not want to miss this one.

Tosche Station: How I Would Have Written TFA is a rather interesting panel. Zahn, Stackpole, Moesta and Anderson throw out some ideas for their own story, take ideas from the crowd, and show how writers break down and develop a plot, sorting through good ideas and bad, and challenge the logic and themes to be tackled. While you won’t learn anything about The Force Awakens from this one, it does grant a rare insight into the minds of the authors and how they work.

Reviewed By: Skuldren for Roqoo Depot.